Belvidere parks adding hockey rink, other upgrades

Friday

Aug 22, 2014 at 4:39 PMAug 22, 2014 at 4:39 PM

By Ben StanleyRockford Register Star

BELVIDERE — The Belvidere park system is getting its first major makeover in 20 years.

Construction of an outdoor hockey rink in Doty Park will likely begin next spring, and the facility could open in winter 2015, according to Dan Roddewig, executive director of the Belvidere Park District. The hockey rink is just one of several additions planned for or underway in the Belvidere parks.

This year, the Park District resurfaced its 25-year-old tennis and basketball courts in Belvidere and Aberdeen Parks, which were “in big need of renovation,” Roddewig said.

Belvidere Park added six pickleball courts, and a spray pad is planned for Doty Park.

Construction of a new facility at 6581 Revlon Drive to house the Northlands Association for Special Recreation will be completed this fall. Northlands offers recreational programs designed for children and adults with physical or mental disabilities. Roddewig said special recreation programs are currently housed in two different facilities with a combined area of around 3,500 square feet. The new facility will offer around 8,000 square feet, making it easier to coordinate and plan events, he said.

Barring any major setbacks, the building will be ready in October. An open house for the public is planned for November.

Park District commissioners approved in August 2012 a $7.9 million bond issuance for park improvements, and the Park District has been working on construction and renovation plans ever since.

Some projects, like the hockey rink, experienced planning obstacles and construction delays.

The park district had to get a special use permit to install extra outdoor lights to make the hockey rink safe and usable at night during the dark winter months. The lighting needed there exceeds city limits, Roddewig said, but the City Council granted the permit Monday night.

The last major Belvidere parks overhaul was in 1994, and years of wear and use have taken a toll.

“The parks always seemed to take the brunt of vandalism,” Belvidere Police Chief Jan Noble said. Gang signs would be carved into picnic tables or tagged on Park District facilities.

The city has seen a drop in vandalism over the past five years. The number of destruction of property and vandalism offenses dropped from 505 in 2009 to 330 in 2013, according to the Belvidere Police Department’s 2013 report.

Noble credits the efforts of Belvidere’s Gang Intervention Unit, and also the decision from a 2010 lawsuit which gave police the authority to arrest certain people accused of being members of the Latin Kings if they were seen associating with another in public.

Roddewig hopes the renovation and lower crime stats will bring more families to the parks.